1st Edition

Using Data Management Techniques to Modernize Healthcare

By Anthony Matthew Hopper Copyright 2016
    326 Pages 21 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    Healthcare organizations with sound human resources (HR) infrastructures are better able to hire, develop, promote, and retain employees who match up well with their specific needs. Using Data Management Techniques to Modernize Healthcare explains how to modernize your HR systems through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), information technology (IT), and other empirical methods. Identifying new technologies and processes that can help to reduce HR labor costs while increasing efficiency and quality of care, it examines the weaknesses that exist in the hiring and employee management practices of today’s healthcare organizations.

    With a focus on the systemic issues related to hiring and compensation, the book provides detailed information regarding HR protocols, IT related issues, and workplace culture. It suggests ways to speed up candidate reviews and explains how to use IT and AI to reduce the number of bad hires. Other topics covered include five key drivers of hospital growth, the digital revolution and its relevance to healthcare companies’ HR practices, and ideas you can use to increase employee satisfaction and retention.

    Providing helpful tips for modernizing HR processes that can save your healthcare organization time and money, the book begins with a historical overview of the growth of the hospital industry and the challenges it currently faces. Next, it discusses HR infrastructures and details methods for improving your hiring systems.

    The final part of the book covers employee development and promotion programs, the proper management and motivation of staff, and the unique HR and IT challenges facing rural hospitals. The book’s appendix includes copies of key checklists, figures, and tables found throughout the book.

    After reading this book, you will understand how to compare your current HR system to the authors' proposed 21st century model so that you can pinpoint the HR processes that must be retooled to modernize your system.

    Introduction—A Look at the Changing Face of Healthcare
    Hospitals—The Golden Years
    Five Key Drivers of Hospital Growth: 1940s–1970s
    The Good Times End—Hospitals Forced to Become More Efficient: 1980s–Present
    Five Issues Negatively Impacting Hospital Margins
    How Hospitals Have Tried to Cope with the Changing Environment
    Rosy on the Outside/Bleak on the Inside
    New Challenges on the Horizon
    The 21st-Century Hospital: Maximizing Efficiency without Sacrificing Patient Quality
    The Mantra for All Healthcare Providers
    References

    The Digital Revolution and Its Relevance to Healthcare Companies’ HR Practices and Infrastructures
    The Early Stages of the Technology Revolution—A Slow Beginning
    Contemporary IT Systems
    Hospitals Slow to Adopt (and Adapt to) New Technologies
    Changes Are Afoot
    The Juxtaposition between Old and New Creates Opportunities
    References

    Healthcare HR at the Crossroads
    Understanding HR
    HR Focus—Holistic and Progressive
    HR and Bad Hires
    Bad Hires and Their Impact on the Bottom Line and on Patient Care
    HR Infrastructures and Non–Hiring-Related Issues
    HR-Related Strategies
    HR Tasks
    Looking Ahead
    References

    A Review of Six Employment Methods
    Staffing Firms
    Outsourcing
    Interns
    Referrals
    Job Fairs
    Direct Hiring
    References

    Suggestions for Improving a Healthcare Organization’s Direct Hiring Systems—The Initial Stages
    Individual Freedom: Blessing and Bane
    Ways to Improve the External Hiring Process for Direct Hires
    The Initial Contact
    The Initial Candidate Vetting Process
    HR Should Take the Initiative
    Get Rid of the Résumé
    Move to an Application-Only System
    Maintain a Dynamic Database
    Mine Old Candidate Data for Potential Hires
    Keep Applicants Informed
    Survey the Applicants
    References

    The Initial Stages in the Hiring Process—The Discussion Continues
    It Is Hard to Find Good Workers—Even in a Recession
    Focus Less on Credentials and More on Potential
    Record Everything in a Database
    Testing
    Objectively Assess a Candidate’s Verbal Reasoning Abilities
    A Managed Approach
    References

    Suggestions for Improving HR’s Direct Hiring Systems—The Intermediate/Final Stages
    What Are You Hiring the Person to Do?
    Create Proactive Action Plans
    Small Healthcare Organizations Should Think Like Baseball Teams—Focus on Flexibility
    Small Healthcare Companies—Key in on a Candidate’s Potential
    A Hiring Game Plan for Small Companies 1
    Place Everything into a Database
    Adopt a Paperless Hiring System
    Corporate Culture: One Key Barrier to a Paperless Hiring System
    Overcoming These Cultural Barriers
    Benefits Outweigh the Costs
    A Case in Point: How to Convince Hiring Managers to Go Digital
    References

    Additional Suggestions for Improving the Hiring Process
    A Review—Focusing on Electronic Processes and High-Potential Hires
    Other Suggestions
    Social Media—The New Way to Connect
    Companies Now Using Social Media in the Hiring Process
    Social Media Mining and the Hiring Process—The Potential
    Social Media Mining and the Hiring Process—The Problems
    A Guide to Using Social Media Mining as a Part of the Hiring Process
    A Different Type of Interview

    Improving Management’s Ability to Identify, Develop, and Promote Internal Talent
    The Two P’s: How They Hinder Internal Development and Promotion Programs
    Power and Its Effect on the Development and Promotion of Internal Talent
    When Managers Use Too Many Sticks and Not Enough Carrots
    A Real Life Example—How Poor Management Skills Can Have a Negative Impact on the Workplace
    Other Sources of Power and Their Effects on Employee Development
    Corporate Politics
    The Seniority System
    Promotion and Development Systems That Favor the Aggressive Employees
    Ways to Maximize Employee Development and Promotion Systems
    Create the Right Culture and Use Key Information Technology (IT) Tools to Identify and Develop Workplace Talent
    References

    Ideas That Managers and Executives Can Use to Increase Employee Satisfaction
    A Review of the Topics Discussed in Chapter 9
    How to Retain, Manage, and Motivate Employees
    Culture and Its Importance in Worker Management
    Why Healthcare Companies Should Care about These Six Features
    Special Considerations for Clinical-Based Healthcare Companies
    A Case in Point—The Disgruntled Employee
    The Other Side of the Argument
    Solutions Should Be Creative, Cost-Effective, Authentic, Planned, and Multipronged
    Using IT and Data Management Tools to Aid in Improving Employee Satisfaction
    Summing Things Up
    References

    A Review of Some of the Unique HR and IT Challenges Facing Rural Hospitals and a Guide to Tackling These Issues
    Looking Backwards
    Rural Health Systems—A Unique Set of Problems and HR-Related Solutions
    Community Hospitals in Rural Areas
    Community Hospitals and Revenue Challenges
    Rural Hospitals—Problems in Finding and Keeping Skilled Workers
    Dearth of Employees Takes Its Toll on Rural Health Systems
    Rural Health Systems Need to Employ Creative, Synergistic, Labor-Related Solutions
    HR and Employee Management Initiatives Should Meet Four Key Objectives
    Summing Things Up
    References

    A Review of Key Topics and a Look at Future Trends
    Technology Is Becoming More Ubiquitous
    Future Advances in Technology Will Impact Almost All Areas of Healthcare
    Five Specific Trends Related to the Technology Revolution
    Healthcare Organizations’ Revenue Streams Will Remain Unpredictable
    Look for Diamonds in the Data and Knowledge "Rough"
    The 21st-Century Employee
    Building the Right Culture: Employee Satisfaction Is Key
    The Negative Impact of Bad Hires
    The Direct Hiring Process—A Model That Is Applicable to any Era
    Setting Up a Direct Hiring System—A Checklist
    A Guide to Developing and Promoting Internal Talent
    The Data-Driven Office
    References

    Appendix

    Index

    Biography

    Anthony Hopper has worked in the healthcare industry for over a decade. During the course of his healthcare career, he has spent time with both small healthcare organizations and hospital systems. He has held a number of different positions at these organizations, including analyst and upper-management–level jobs. He also has experience in health policy via an internship with the Center for Studying Health System Change.

    Anthony most recently served as a business development officer for Rapid Improvement, Inc. This company utilizes an artificial intelligence algorithm and a unique, one-question survey technique to translate text-based complaints into quantifiable data. He still maintains an affiliation with this company.

    Anthony is currently a full-time instructor at ECPI University’s Emerywood campus, located in Richmond, Virginia. He recently coauthored an article on sentiment analysis that appeared in the Journal of Health Organization and Management. He has an M.A. in English from the University of Virginia and an M.S. in Health Systems Administration from Georgetown University.

    "Hopper has delivered a well-organized and informational piece of work that appeals to the executive-level health professional. His sequencing of information is logical, direct, and to the point, which provides a clear understanding of the material contained within. His writing skills provide a fresh and concise method to comprehend the complexity of solid hiring protocols which will be beneficial for any level executive."
    -Samuel Silek RPh, Sr., VP Managed Care and Professional Sales, Liberty Medical, LLC